Church Bulletin – September 20, 2020

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”  Philippians 4:6

In Philippians 4:6 we are exhorted to be “careful” for nothing. We have here a word that has changed its meaning. Today it means to exercise caution. But when our translation was made, it meant to be full of anxious care. The Greek word is used in a second-century sentence, “I am writing in haste to prevent your being anxious, for I will see that you are not worried.” The word therefore is a synonym for the word “worry.” The force of the word in the Greek is that of forbidding the continuance of an action already going on. Thus the translation is, “Stop perpetually worrying about even one thing.” The same Greek word is found in Matthew 6:25 and is translated, “Take no thought.” We have the same force of the Greek here. “Stop perpetually worrying.” This recognizes the habitual attitude of the unsaved human heart toward the problems and difficulties of life. God commands us, “Stop perpetually worrying about even one thing.” We commit sin when we worry. We do not trust God when we worry. We do not receive answers to prayer when we worry, because we are not trusting.

But this command not to worry is founded upon a reasonable basis. That is, there is a reason why we need not worry. In 1 Peter 5:7 we have, “Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.” The word “care” is from the same Greek word. We are commanded to cast all our worry upon Him. The word “cast” is not the ordinary word in Greek which means “to throw,” but one which signifies a definite act of the will in committing to Him our worries, in giving them to Him. In other words, we are done worrying about the matter and will let God assume the responsibility.

And that is just what He desires to do. We are to commit to Him all our worries (or the things that would worry us if we assumed the responsibility) because He cares for us. But in this instance the word “cares” is not the word for “worry” in the Greek. The expression in the original literally means “is a care to him concerning you.” In other words, your welfare is His concern. By bringing you into His family, He has undertaken the responsibility of caring for your welfare. Therefore, if that is true, why worry?

There is on record in an early Greek manuscript the name of a man called Titedios Amerimnos. The first name is a proper name. The second name is made up of the word which means “to worry” with the Greek letter Alpha prefixed to it, which makes the word mean the opposite of what it formerly meant. It is thought that this man was a pagan Greek who perpetually worried, but who, after being saved, stopped worrying. So he was called, “Titedios, the Man who Never Worries.” Can we write our name and add to it, “The One Who Never Worries”? – Kenneth Wuest